Understanding Crochet Patterns

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In knitting and crochet, accuracy counts when measuring your gauge swatch. Before you measure your gauge swatch, wash and block it, if that's what you'd do for the completed project. Next, smooth out the[more…]

Steeks are an excellent way to secure stitches before you cut open fabric that's knitted in the round. After you steek a pullover sweater knitted in the round, you cut between the steeks to create a cardigan[more…]

When you wet-block a piece of knitting or crochet, you wet it and coax it into its final shape. To wet block your knitting or crochet, you get it completely wet in a sink or basin of water. Have a large[more…]

Steam blocking is a gentle way to shape delicate knitted or crocheted pieces. When you steam block a piece of knitting or crochet, you steam it (instead of soak it) to coax it into its final shape.[more…]

Blocking hats, mittens, socks, or other three-dimensional pieces of knitting or crochet isn't hard at all. To block a three-dimensional piece of knitting or crochet, you use traditional blocking techniques[more…]

Going back and forth may not get you places in real life, but it sure does when you’re crocheting in rows. When you crochet rows, you need to turn your work, make your turning chain, and start back across[more…]

When you get to the end of your crochet design and you’ll need to fasten off the yarn. Fastening off crochet is a fancy way to say cut the yarn and secure it. You also need to fasten off one color to[more…]

Crochet instructions use symbols, such as parentheses, brackets, and bullets, to represent certain actions. After you decipher these crochet symbols, you'll be able to read a crochet pattern like a pro[more…]

Following a stitch diagram in crochet isn't that scary once you understand the symbols and abbreviations. When you read a crochet pattern, the stitch diagram shows only a few rows to avoid repetition and[more…]

You join a new ball of yarn when you've crocheted to the end of your current yarn. Joining a new ball or skein of yarn correctly is as important to the appearance of your crochet work as the actual stitches[more…]

You can decrease a stitch (abbreviated dec), which is really just subtracting a stitch, in a double crochet row. You decrease stitches in double crochet in the same places that you increase stitches —[more…]

You can make a decrease in your crochet with slip stitches or by stopping before the last stitch — if you need to decrease at the beginning or end of a row of stitches. These two methods are simple ways[more…]

To begin a crochet design that you work in rounds, you first create a center ring and then crochet the first round. After you complete the number of stitches needed for the first round, join the first[more…]

Increasing one single crochet at the beginning of the row is the same as doing it in the middle or at the end of a row, because the turning chain in a single crochet row doesn’t count as a stitch. Wherever[more…]

When crocheting with two or more colors, you often carry the yarn that you’re not working with at the moment. (You carry the yarn until you need it again.) Carrying the yarn means that you don't have to[more…]

You always make increases in the first half of a row of basic Afghan stitch. Making increases in your Afghan stitch's first row creates extra loops on your hook; then, you work off all the loops in the[more…]

To make a decrease in basic Afghan stitch, you decrease in the first half of a row of basic Afghan stitch, subtracting loops from your hook; then, you work off all the loops in the second half as usual[more…]

Use the filet crochet technique to create open spaces in your crochetwork. In filet crochet, the open spaces form the background, while filled blocks create the design. The spaces begin with a foundation[more…]

Use the filet crochet technique to create filled blocks in crochetwork. In filet crochet, filled blocks create design while open spaces form the background. Blocks consist of 3 double crochet stitches[more…]

Increase spaces and blocks to make filet crochet interesting. To increase one space at the beginning of a row of filet crochet, you must chain enough stitches to make up a space. If you increase at the[more…]

Increase spaces and blocks to make filet crochet interesting. To increase more than one space at the beginning of a filet crochet row, you just have to know how many increase chain stitches to make for[more…]

To increase one block at the beginning of a row in filet crochet, you create two double crochet stitches for the top of the increase block. To increase additional blocks, you follow the same steps as for[more…]